AN overseas holiday used to be thought of as a reward for a year’s hard work. Now Brussels has declared that tourism is a human right and pensioners, youths and those too poor to afford it should have their travel subsidised by the taxpayer.

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The idea for the subsidised tours is the brainchild of Antonio Tajani, the European Union commissioner for enterprise and industry, who was appointed by Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister.

The scheme, which could cost hundreds of millions of pounds a year, is intended to promote a sense of pride in European culture, bridge the north-south divide in the continent and prop up resorts in their off-season.

Amazing. The tax payer in Europe is going to have to pay for the vacations of those who can’t afford ’em. I think my favorite part is where the justification for this nonsense is the “sense of pride in European culture” that it is supposed to create. Funny that. I used to think that pride was developed over time as a result of hard work.